/library/oar/handle/123456789/113936 2025-12-20T07:17:13Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/115193 Title: The ban on plastic and expanded polystyrene products in Jamaica : impacts on improved environment standards Abstract: Plastic production around the world has increased since its invention. It is cheaper to manufacture than alternatives such as those made from paper and fabric, for example, cotton. It is a ubiquitous material that now has many governments and advocacy groups concerned because there is little evidence to support that it ever fully disintegrates; however, there is overwhelming evidence to show that single use plastic products such as shopping bags and containers made of expanded polystyrene foam can be found floating in oceans and other water bodies in the form of macroplastics, microplastics or nanoplastics. To mitigate against the expected negative impacts of plastic pollution, the Government of Jamaica has joined over 127 other countries that have enacted legislation to prohibit the use, manufacture, sale and distribution of plastic shopping bags and expanded polystyrene products. The prohibition was evaluated in terms of its relation to the discipline of Environmental Economics which primarily focused on command and control principles along with market based instruments. Specifically, the prohibition was investigated using a mixed methods approach including the use of a structured interview schedule which essentially attempted to gather data on the nature of the ban, people’s attitude towards it, people’s level of awareness, and the intended and unintended consequences that may be associated with the ban. This research attempted to test the following hypotheses: awareness of the ban responds to salience of promotion and education levels, pro-ban attitudes respond to awareness and pro-environmental attitudes, a significant decline in plastic and expanded polystyrene products use respond to awareness and pro-environmental attitudes, and continued use of banned products results from expense and inconvenience caused by the ban. Description: M.A.ISLANDS&SMALL STAT.STUD. 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z